Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Newport Sailboat Show- J/111 Introduction

(Newport, RI)- Be sure to mark your calendars to view the J/111 at the Newport Sailboat show, open from September 16th to 19th. Also featured will be the J/95 (the cool, shoal-draft centerboard cruiser); the J/100 with sprit option; the J/22 and J/80 at the Waterlines booth; the J/80 and J/105 on the Discover Sailing docks on the waterfront next to the J/Boats in-water docks; and the gorgeous J/65 BRAND NEW DAY (more info below) in the brokerage section. For more Newport Sailboat Show info.

J/111 Carbon Nanotube Technology

What does it have that BMW/Oracle 17 & C-Class Cats Don't?

(Newport, RI)- In the world of composite materials there are always the issues of trade-offs in terms of cost/ performance/ durability and the practical limits of production. Witness the recent advances made in engineering/ design to construct BMWO's massive wing sail. Or, follow the thread in Sailing Anarchy's multihull forum on C-Class cats that describe "monster garage technology" used to create state-of-the-art C-Class cats capable of sailing at near ice-boat wind speed multiples~ 3x faster than the wind. These boats are built to the extreme limits- sail to win one regatta and if it breaks afterwards, you won the engineering arms race.

In the case of the J/111, Zyvex approached J/Boats and Hall Spars regarding their ground-breaking use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in both flat panel and tubular composites. Much of Zyvex's work has been the usual cloak-and-dagger stuff of spy novels, such as ultra-lightweight unmanned surveillance craft, reinforced with carbon nanotubes, (see www.piranhausv.com) operating 24x7 over certain Middle Eastern/ Asian theaters.

Military applications aside, here are the simple facts for our commercial world --Zyvex's carbon nanotubes are hollow, extremely lightweight tubes 5 nanometers in diameter and about 30 nanometers long (e.g. a smaller "framework" than the 32 nanometer process used in INTEL Corp's latest Itanium "Tukwila" microprocessor designs with over 2 BILLION transistors). These tubes have a special coating ("Kentera") which forms a bridge between the CNTs and the epoxy resin. The epoxy resin/CNT mix is then squeezed under 200 psi of pressure into a carbon fiber pultruded fabric called Arovex. This "pre-preg Arovex" is then wrapped onto a Hall Spars mandrel, then autoclaved cured at 90 psi at 250 F. degrees. At these pressures, epoxy has the viscosity of alcohol and the carbon nanotubes naturally disperse into the recesses between the carbon fibers in the laminate (e.g. providing connections along the "load lines" of the carbon fiber itself). Remember, a single carbon fiber thread is about 0.5-1.0mm (500 microns), or about 10x the thickness of human hair (which is 50 microns or 50,000 nanometers thick on average). So, you can fit a LOT of carbon nano-tubes into the "empty/ dead" space between the fibers- displacing a lot of "dead epoxy" resin unnecessary to maintain the matrix of the carbon threads in the pre-preg fabric (see picture depicting this process).

The result? The J/111 spar is built with the most advanced carbon fiber technology known today in the sailing world- more advanced than the materials used by BMW/Oracle 17 engineers and the current state-of-the-art in the C-Class cat world.

According to Mike Nemeth, Chief of Commercial & Defense Applications for Zyvex, "At the same weight of another laminate schedule, our materials demonstrate a 10% improvement in fracture toughness and 25% greater flexural modulus. For further comparison, our military hulls weigh 30% less than traditional carbon fiber laminates when designed to the performance capabilities of our materials." For more J/111 sailboat information.

J/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

This past week has been a fascinating one worldwide. Celebrating the old while ushering in the new. Old technology and design versus the latest in ultimate sailing performance and aerospace technologies. The launch of the J/111 has caused quite a stir amongst the sailing cognoscenti. Meanwhile, passionate J sailors who have sailed some J classes over 30 years are having a great time with friends and the larger "J/family" at continental and world championships- such as the J/22 Northamericans in Buffalo, NY; the J/24 Canadians in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and the J/24 Worlds in Malmo, Sweden. At the same time, J/105s and J/109s had great class racing in Chicago's Verve Cup and in Southern California. Plus, a J/100 in Chicago proved yet again it's tough to beat in double-handed racing. Finally, don't forget to read the J/Cruising Community section below. Read on! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.

Team 11th Hour-Sailors For The Sea Win J/24 Worlds

Or, Why "The Moose Is Loose" Is a Winning Formula

(Malmo, Sweden - August 18th)- Well Moose, it took just a few years to get there (e.g. it couldn't have been a better outcome for one of the nicest guys sailing on the planet). Nevertheless, with a crackerjack team skippered by Tim Healey, Team 11th Hour-Sailors For The Sea took the coveted prize- "World Champions of the World"- a.k.a. J/24 Worlds 2010 gold. It was not easy. As described in "The Moose Reports" on SA (Sailing Anarchy), it nearly became "stealing victory from the jaws of defeat." Apologies to all, but it's great reading, so here's the unabridged versions from Scot and friends at SA's "The Moose Is Loose Reports":
----------------August 19th- Today was a good day- "Finally, good starts and good finishes, and deserved. At least a little bit. Gordy stepped up in a big way and got us right on the line both starts (first raced we started bow to chainplate with Ingham who was BFD), we were able to use some speed (and I'd like to say smarts but it's still too early to talk about stuff like that) to pop a 1,2. And no rain.

Both races were tough. The first race started with small jibs (though we knew we should have been in the big jib), we hooked a good start and were able to tack right into the great current (cool thing here, the current is all based on where the highs and lows are, the current flows from low to high, the high went south last night so instead of the northerly current of the last week, it went south), we were able to overcome about 10 degrees of pin bias to come across the left side and round first. We did a quick change to the big jib in the way downwind, as did most of the fleet, and though there were a lot of anxious moments downwind (I'll stop whining at some point) and a tricky beat where we hooked to the right again for current, though slightly out of phase, we managed to maintain ahead of Tony Parker, who came with us to go from 5 to 2 on the beat. Good day for the ugly Americans.

The 2nd race was nerve wracker, we missed a little trying to be smart and were pinned going to the left, away from the good current. We weren't quite able to hang with Ian Southworth, who popped out form a pretty good start from the left side, though we weren't able to quite hang with him we both did some fancy swerving to get around a group from the right, Ian rounded right behind a Japanese team in first, we slid into 3rd (don't ask how, stuff happens), we both rolled the Japanese and then we followed Ian around for 2nd. It was a particularly tough race for both Ingham and Parker, they were stuck left and never recovered. Casale, who was probably lying around 2nd gong into that race, also fell victim to the squirrelly breeze which leaves Southworth in 2nd, I think.

I haven't looked at results yet, that superstitious thing I've told anyone that asks that I've been in far bigger collapses, I hope we can hold on. Tomorrow is forecast to be light and weird, I hope that's not right, we go well in breeze, in light stuff we have to think a lot more and that's where things go bad. Hopefully I'll give you a good report soon."
------------August 21- Moose tells you how to Close The Deal- "Well, we didn't make it easy on ourselves but we held on. Ian Southworth sailed extremely well over the last three races to make a full charge at us, we helped him out a lot by hacking up the first race today, losing three boats on the run to the finish to put the end result in doubt. You may have seen our report from the second day, when I talked about losing three boats at the weather mark. I call this points left on the course. Points you had that you blew. We could have sailed in after our poor first race today as champions, instead we left the whole thing up in the air. For anyone that sails a lot, this is an incredibly important lesson: even in a long series, there are little points that you say coulda, whoulda, shoulda, those are the points that will make the difference down the road. Don't give up on any points you've gained, keep pushing all the time, EVERY point makes a difference. If we had only lost two boats the second day we could have sailed in. If we'd only lost two boats on the run the first race we could have sailed in. Frustrating.

Enough ranting, anyone that sails with me knows I whine incessantly, for better or worse (and you can guess which one it is, though most still want to sail with me). Tim did an unbelievable job, total calm within the storm (anyone that sails with him knows there isn't a whole lot of noise from the back of the boat), very fast and particularly high upwind, great concentration and effort. We used a chartered Italian boat from builder Paolo Boido (a truly class guy, deal with him if you can, if not go straight to Dunes) that was very comfortable all the way around the course, having confidence in the boat helps in a lot of decision making. John Mollicone in cockpit made the comment- "who would have ever thought I'd win a Worlds trimming?"

Well, he did, very capable upwind getting the genoa (and jib in the breeze) in better than almost everyone (after never doing it), and calling all the shots downwind (while, as expected, I whined about what he was doing, catching the theme?). Gordy Borges, our bow guy (and former World Champ with Brad Read) was the glue that held the package together, the guy that does the bottom, makes the sandwiches, does the rig, all the crap that no one wants to do, and always with a smile (I think). Dan Rabin, a Lightning stud and newer member to the team, joyfully sat below in all the rain (though today it was sun all the way around) and light air (porn not included), never complained and soaked up the experience (if not the sunshine), the perfect complement for a bunch of guys that sail the boats way too much.

For the rest of the fleet, there was a mish-mash of results. Former champion Andrea Casele, though quick, had a couple bad races but held on for third overall. Maurizio Santa Cruz, defending champion, won two races but struggled for consistency. Tony Parker was always fast but suffered a BFD in the last race to drop him to 6th after entering the day 2nd, a tough finish but a testament to Tony and his team for sailing a strong series. Mike Ingham also fell victim to the black flag, he had moments of pure brilliance but consistency was not in the books and he ended falling out of contention today. Overall, though, a good showing from almost every country represented.

I'm really glad this came together, not so much for me, because I have been lucky enough to sail with really good teams and have had success, but for the rest of the guys on our team. I love the whole crew aspect, gathering diverse people and getting the most out of the mix. We were fortunate; we sailed very well for several days and had success. This doesn't always happen, I've finished 2nd three times (in the J/24 Worlds) and the bitter pill is tough to swallow. These guys busted their asses, they got the results. I'm really proud, and glad, to have gotten the chance to sail with them." Thanks to SA for The Moose Report- http://www.sailinganarchy.com For more J/24 Worlds sailing results For Sailing Photo Credits- Magnus Grubbe

Mercedes J/22 North Americans

Fisher Wins Again!

(Buffalo, NY)- This past weekend, over 50 teams from across the United States and Canada sailed on the waters of Lake Erie in the Mercedes-Benz 2010 J/22 North American Championship, hosted by the Buffalo Yacht Club in Buffalo, NY. In the end, J/22 class leader Greg Fisher from Annapolis, MD again proved beyond any reasonable doubt that he's one of North America's most versatile one-design class sailors. Greg and his team of Jeff Eiber, Jo Ann Fisher and Martha Fisher, on their J/22 Team WHAT KINDA GONE finished the event with 30 points over five races. It certainly didn't start out that way for Greg and crew. On the first day, they were in a three-way battle for second.

Chris Doyle of Kenmore, NY dominated day one. Team SOLID LAYER finished the day with just 12 points over four races. A three-way battle ensued for the next spots between Todd Hiller, Greg Fisher and Jim Barnash (28 points). Competitors experienced winds starting around 12 knots, building to 15-20 with large waves. Todd Hiller kicked off the event by winning race one, followed by Canadian Champion Gordon McIlquham and David McBrier. In race two, Terry Flynn took the top spot, trailed by Chris Doyle and Greg Fisher. Chris Doyle had a strong showing in race three, besting John Loe in second and Fisher in third. In the day's final race, Flynn returned to the first position, followed by Fisher and Kevin Doyle.

By the last day Sunday the tables had turned on the top three completely, looking nothing like the first day of sailing. No racing was completed on the final day of the regatta due to a lack of consistent winds. After a rare score of 20 in the first race of the event, Fisher tallied two third-place finishes and two second-place finishes. Following Fisher in the silver position is Jim Barnash with 35 points, then Rochester favorite Chris Doyle with 36. For more J/22 North American sailing and results information. Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wilkes Photography.

YERTLE (the turtle) Wins J/24 Canadian Nationals

(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- Just days after the J/24 Worlds finished in Sweden, the Canadians were conducting their 2010 J24 Nationals. The win by Ian Dawson and Craig Noake's YERTLE was a remarkable result, considering that YERTLE emerged from a three-way tie for first winning on the strength of three first place finishes in individual races. It was a crazy scenario...if this has ever happened before, I have my doubts. Here's the story by "Dr. Zeus":

"YERTLE had to win the last race and did so by overtaking Lisa Ross in JAMN'IT on the final leg of the last race. Ian and Craig needed Peter Wickwire to finish no better than third, which Peter, in fact, did, fully aware that if Lisa could hold on his SUNNYVALE would win the regatta. Both required Johnny Whynacht in STICKY FINGERS to finish eighth or worse (i.e. a drop), which he unfortunately did by coming in tenth for his worst race in what was otherwise a very consistent series." Incredible. Stupendous. Unbelievable. What other words can you possibly use here (or would the competitors use)!?!?

The event closed with a first class lobster supper and prize giving in the Squadron's Spar Loft attended by more than 150 sailors and officials. Class President Dale Robertson, who did a spectacular job recruiting sponsors, distributed the largesse of Sperry Topsider, Slam clothing and gear, Jackson-Triggs, and others to the countless volunteers who supported the event as well as to top finishers and notable also-rans (e.g., Best Dressed Lisa Ross and Best Comeback Eric Koppernaes). Plaques were distributed to all crew members of the top five boats along with many sponsor-provided items. The event concluded after the YERTLE crew collected their trophy and participants were told to look under their chairs for tags that indicated they had won prizes such as Sperry shoes or Henri Lloyd clothing provided by The Binnacle. A melee ensued and we can only hope that everyone left with shoes and jackets that fit.

By the time the band Big City was warming up for the finale, I have to admit I was too dog tired. It was nice, though, to see Tom Taylor from St. Catherines, who I used to sail with in Kingston, Ontario, and who brought his boat, A1, farther than any other competitor at the event. Tom was hoping for more wind than we provided this time but acknowledged that you couldn't knock the sun, which is usually harder to find in Halifax than breeze.

I got a second wind, myself, when Big City kicked into their version of "Suspicious Minds." I lasted long enough to get a few dances with my wife, Lorna, while the young women of BLACK JACK cut a "vicious rug." Next August, when the J/24 North Americans come to town, we'll see if we can't come up with a shorter line up for measurement, no fog, a touch more breeze, equally comfortable temperatures, and the same good times and terrific competition." So, now Dr. Zeus can relax and go to bed! For more Canadian J/24 Nationals sailing information

J/105 SEALARK Wins Overall Verve Cup

MOMENTOUS Wins J/109s

(Chicago, IL)- The 2010 Verve Cup Offshore Regatta kicked off on a beautiful sunny day in Chicago, with decent winds and all three circles getting at least three races in for the day. Racers did have some challenges with shifty wind conditions, navigating between the lake breeze and the winds from the shore.

"The challenge on Saturday for the sailors was an offshore southwesterly about 12 knots was battling a lake breeze of about 8-10 knots," explained Chris Bedford, meteorologist for Sailing Weather Service. "Shifts of 20-30 degrees between the two breezes were common. Depending on if you were on the correct side of the shift, you were a winner or a loser."

Circle B was dominated by the 17-boat J/105 Fleet, led by STRIKING, owned by Blane Shea. Close behind are SEALARK and VYTIS who are all within 1 point of each other. The J/105s are tuning up for their North Americans which will be held at Chicago Yacht Club in September. After two bullets and a second place, MOMENTUS leads the J109s also with a great first day.

Nevertheless, with Sunday's sailing under their belts the class leaders in the J/105s had a lot of turnover amongst the leaders. At the end it can only be best exclaimed by eventual regatta winner Clark Pellet on the J/105 SEALARK. "Holy crap", exclaimed Clark, upon realizing he'd not only won first place in the J/105 fleet, but also the prestigious honor of the Overall Verve Cup trophy. The Overall Verve Cup trophy is awarded to the winner of the most competitive fleet in the Verve Cup Offshore regatta.

"As we say in the J/105 fleet, there's always someone waiting to steal your lunch. And they will," Pellet of Chicago said about the great sailing during the series. "This is a great regatta, the Chicago Yacht Club and Race committee does such an outstanding job, we couldn't be happier." The crew of SEALARK also includes, bowman Shane Montgomery, tactician Russ Radke, mid bowman John Schussler and headsail trimmer Ned Sher. SEALARK scored 33 points to take first place, followed by Dorothy Mietz's LATIS with 42 and Team Weerwing/Mathis's LANE 4 with 43 points. Pre-regatta favorites like Tom Petkus's VYTIS ended up fourth, just two points from second! And Don Wilson's CONVEXITY sailed a very strong series and were easily amongst the leaders by virtue of their three firsts but a DNF and DSQ on their score-card dampened any ability to be in the top three.

The J/109s had a very competitive regatta amongst the seven participants. Kevin Saedi's team on MOMENTUS took the gold and walked off with five first and a second and third to win by six points. George Miz and team on-board VALOR sailed very well (their second regatta on a J/109 other than racing the Chicago-Mackinac Race) to finish in second, nicely bracketing their regatta with firsts in the first and last race. Third was Peter Priede's FULL TILT with 33 points, just beating out David Gustman's NORTHSTAR in fourth with 35 points. In fact, NORTHSTAR came on strong the last day with second best record of the day behind the regatta winner MOMENTUS.

In the handicap world, the J/125 JEANINE sailed by John Roeser took second in PHRF 2. In PHRF 5, the two J/35s gave everyone fits...again. The J//35 BOZO'S CIRUCS sailed by Bruce Metcalf was second and in fourth was the J/35 AFTERSHOCK skippered by William Newman. PHRF 7 was dominated by the resurgent, fun-loving J/30 giants in the greater Midwest. The J/30 AWESOME- Team CHI NOLA won; their worst race was a second! In second was the J/30 PLANXTY sailed by Kate and Dennis Bartley. Third was the always competitive J/27 TRUE NORTH sailed by Dan Arntzen. For more Verve Cup sailing information.

Team Swiss Wins Dennis Conner Challenge!

(New York, NY)- The New York Harbor Sailing Foundation held its annual Dennis Conner International YC Challenge over the weekend, in New York Harbor. It is the fourth running of this remarkable event designed to promote fun, camaraderie and international relations amongst all sailing clubs worldwide--- pioneered by founder of Manhattan Sailing Club founder Mike Fortenbaugh and renowned America's Cup Champion Dennis Conner from San Diego Yacht Club in San Diego, California.

It is both a historical event as well as a fun event. "Doubting Thomas's" aside, it's a first class program that includes taking in all the wonderful sites and events that New York City has to offer as well as a fabulous social program for the four days of the event. Mayor Bloomberg eat your heart out-- perhaps next year he'll sail, too! For you Newporters, thank goodness the blockade in the War of 1812 by the British worked-- they just took a few bits of pine lumber from those quaint Newport cottages to repair their lumbering, slow warships and ultimately left. Meanwhile, Narragansett Bay was shut down...the beneficiary was "New Amsterdam" (e.g. New York) which became the "new" trading port for the colonies. The rest is history...most amusingly when an ancient Dutch Johnstone "ancestor/farmer" (non-sailor we might add) swapped 1,477 acres of the southern tip known today as "Manhattan's Wall Street" for a farm further inland near another town now called "Princeton" (Wall Street used to flood too much back in the 17th century, not conducive to growing crops).

First place went to Societe Nautique Rolloise (Switzerland) with 14 pts, in second was the fun-loving, Mardi Gras-loving, beads wearing gang from Southern Yacht Club (USA) with 15 points. And, not to be outclassed by any measure were the lucky Leprechauns in 3rd from the Royal Cork Yacht Club (Ireland) with 17 pts. Sixteen yacht clubs from around the world participated in the 4-day regatta raced on J/24s on the Hudson River-- lots laughs and many tears of joy and happiness as all departed to the seven seas around the world. Next time, join us!! For more J/24 Dennis Conner International YC Challenge.

J/122 PUGWASH Wins New York YC Cruise

(Camden, ME)- This year's 154th Annual New York YC Cruise in Maine had over 100 yachts. How cool is that? Well, it was more like 60 sailboats and 40 motor yachts as support/ mother-ships. Fun stuff. The social calendar is nearly as important as the sailing calendar...some think the former is way, way more important than the latter (where was JP Morgan and The Queen?).

The Queen's Cup, a marquee event of the Annual Cruise, saw Dave Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH (pictured above sailing off Key West) finish second overall by 20 seconds (but winning class)! Two days later, on August 10, Dave's J/122 PUGWASH also finished second overall in the equally iconic Astor Cup by 22 seconds (but winning class)! Ouch! That hurts...two huge chunks of silverware lost were it not for some lobster pots on rudders, a few slow tacks and a better spinnaker take-down. Nevertheless, the PUGWASH gang, like George Washington forging across the Delaware River, persevered against all odds and took first overall for IRC 2 for the Squadron Runs. For more New York YC Cruise sailing information.

J/105 SoCal Championship

Gary Mozer wins with solid team

(Long Beach, CA)- After posting three first-place finishes in a row on Saturday, local favorite Gary Mozer's J/105 CURRENT OBSESSION 2 hung on Sunday to take first place honours in the second annual J/105 SoCal Championship hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club and sponsored by Ullman Sails, North Sails, West Marine and JK3 Nautical Enterprises.

In the final two races, Mozer finished third and sixth keeping a four point spread between himself and second place finisher Dennis and Sharon Case's WINGS. With consistent winds of 10-14 knots throughout the weekend, the competitive 17 boat fleet enjoyed long legs, lots of passing opportunities and tight racing. "Today we enjoyed a much deserved victory," Mozer said. "Twice in the last nine days I've been in the hospital with sciatica and in a lot of pain. It was my team that deserves the credit."

Mozer's team of John Busch, Robert 'Peaches' Wittle, Whit Batchelor, Peter Isaac and Liz 'Tinkerbell' Tran kept the boat in the fight after he began to have severe back and muscle pain near the end of the day Sunday. "My back was hurting so bad I had trouble concentrating," said Mozer, "but the key was the years of teamwork we have had together and our consistency. We also had a little help from someone you may have heard of. Dave Ullman went out with us earlier in the week during one of our practices and his coaching helped us a lot."

A good part of the fleet is from the San Diego area and, two years ago, a call from fleet member Dennis Case started the ball rolling to create this event. Long Beach Yacht Club found a date for the regatta and it has now enjoyed two years of great racing and great racing conditions. The reason they wanted to race in Long Beach?

"Well, there are two reasons we chose Long Beach," explained Case. "The first reason is that Long Beach is pretty much the center of the West Coast J/105 fleet. We figured boats coming from either down south or up north would have to come about the same distance. The second reason is the great sailing conditions. The wind is reliable and we race inside the breakwater in fairly flat seas that allow us to enjoy close, fast racing. We are delighted with what we experience here and couldnâ€™t ask for anything better." With his second place in the regatta Case feels he and his team did quite well in the local conditions. "We tried to slow him [Mozer] down a bit," said Case. "I held him down as much as possible on the starts, but by doing that it put us in a world of hurt for boat position on the fleet. He was untouchable on Saturday so we tried to catch up today by staying ahead of him."

Local sailing legend Barney Flam and his boat FLAMBUOYANT sailed to third place in the regatta with his equally skilled son Steve calling tactics and handling main sheet duties. "It was consistency in that last race that helped us a lot," Flam said. "The race was well run and the race committee work was very good."

At the end of the two-day event, there was a three-way tie for fourth place. The tie-breaker was the first place finish in race five by San Diego's Chuck Driscoll and Tom Hurlburt's boat BLOW BOAT. "We tightened the rig and did a few things which helped us to sail better," Driscoll said. "Saturday we were weren't quite right and after the adjustments we were able to finish first in the last race today. We never sail in really good breezes like this and we worked on getting good starts this weekend."

J/100 & J/105 Win There & Back Race

(Chicago, IL)- The annual Belmont Yacht Club's "There and Back Race" were won by J/Boats, reports the Herer's from Chicago.
The J/100 WHAT'S UP, sailed by Paul and Sue Herer won the Double Handed Division.
What is even cooler that another J, Mark Gannon's J/105 GANGBUSTERS, won the Single Handed Division!

J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* While Steve Buzbee's BLUE MEANIE crew was winning the J/30 Northamericans, other friends on the water did their own version of SA's "On-the-water-Anarchy".

Check out this amusing video of the J/30s racing off Marblehead, MA- hosted Boston Yacht Club. It was clear this team was determined to have fun-- powered by Corona Extra Light, it's a great on-board video. See it on YouTube.

* The boys from Down Under sailing Australian-built J/24s had two of their own sailing in the J/24 Worlds in Sweden (one pictured here in blustery conditions near the beginning of the week). In addition, Fleet Captain Simon Grain unearthed two articles from renowned Australian Sailing journalist, Bob Ross, from 1979 and 1982 describing his first experiences sailing J/24s with yet another renowned Australian, Rob Mundle. Read more about the story here on their J/24 Australia website.

The J Cruising community

These passionate J sailors continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." Fun reading when rocking back in a chair watching your storm-lashed windows take a beating in the gale roaring outside and listening to the crackle of a roaring fire. It is winter "down under" you know. The Argentineans are freezing.

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary will have just finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above). SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com). Susan Grun and her husband on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun).

Featured Boats

J/65 at the Newport International Boat Show

If you have a passion for speed and comfort, the J/65 BRAND NEW DAY is in a league of its own. The J/65 is the flagship passage maker in the J Boat line-- the ultimate private sailing yacht for sailing enthusiasts. The J/65 has exceptional performance under non-overlapping headsails, double-handed ease of operation, minimum on-deck maintenance, luxurious accommodations, stunning aesthetics, and great value. Finishing 2nd in IRC in the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race, sailing with air conditioning and wine with each meal, the J/65 is a yacht that performs exceptionally well and in style and comfort. For more on the race experience, visit this link. Brand New Day will be at the Newport International Boat Show September 16 â€“ 19 in Newport, Rhode Island. To arrange a viewing, contact Jeff Brown jeff@jk3yachts.com

J/95 #1 Available- Owner Buying Bigger J!

J/95s are on a roll in the southeast with five boats sailing in the area by this fall (at least four planning to participate in the January Key West Race Week). Sarasota Yacht and Ship is the brokerage side of the J/Southeast dealer CrossCurrent Marine, and they are thrilled to have landed the first brokerage listing for this wonderful shoal draft performance daysailer. Boat is fully optioned with carbon sails, mast, V boom and sports an extension electronics suite. Please contact Craig Crossley at 401-330-6135 craig@crosscurrentmarine for more information.

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

SAIL- J/111 Boat Test

The Latest From J/Boats Is All About Performance

(Boston, MA)- Adam Cort recently did a test sail of the J/111 and interviewed designer Alan Johnstone: "According to designer Al, the brief for the new 36ft 6in J/111 one-design was for a boat that he and the rest of the J/Boats crew would want to sail—-- and it shows. During a recent daysail off Newport, Rhode Island, hull #1 reveled in picture perfect sailing conditions, with winds out of the east in the mid to high teens. Sailing to windward, the boat was balanced and easy to drive through the moderate swells. Off the wind, the boat lit up under a massive, but easy to handle A-sail." Read more about Adam's interview here. SAIL's J/111 video.

Newport Sailboat Show- Sept 16-19

(Newport, RI)- Be sure to mark your calendars to view the J/111 at the Newport Sailboat show, open from September 16th to 19th. Also featured will be the J/95 (the cool, shoal-draft centerboard cruiser); the J/100 with sprit option; the J/22 and J/80 at the Waterlines booth; the J/80 and J/105 on the Discover Sailing docks on the waterfront next to the J/Boats in-water docks; and the gorgeous J/65 BRAND NEW DAY (more info below) in the brokerage section. For more Newport Sailboat Show info.

SAIL Best Around The Buoys Contest

(Boston, MA)- Introducing Best Around the Buoys, SAIL's grass-roots racing initiative to reward PHRF racers for their team's performance at the local racing level and encourage racers to set a goal of racing on the national level at Key West Race Week. A team will be selected based on its local-sailing resume to earn a free entry to Key West Race Week, Jan 17–21, 2011, on board a race-ready J/Boat.

To enter, fill in the information below, including your 2010 Race Resume and a 200-word max essay on why you think your team is ready to compete at Key West. One entry per team. Contest runs between July 28th and Oct 15th. The Winner announced on or about November 1st. For more SAIL Magazine Contest information.

J/Fests Southwest and West!

Coming up soon are two excellent J/Fest events that are taking place on the West Coast and in Texas. For starters, the J/Fest Newport Beach is the western version being held from September 16-19th in Newport Beach, CA and hosted by Balboa Yacht Club (http://www.balboayachtclub.com).

For the Texas "hoe-down" version, be sure to attend the J/Fest Southwest being held for the first time on October 16-17 in Galveston Bay and hosted by the Lakewood Yacht Club. As LYC Race Committee Chairman Dwight Bengtson explained, “J/Fest Regattas have been held for over 25 years in such venues as Annapolis, Newport Beach, CA; New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. This will be a great opportunity for Lakewood to promote and support a national caliber event.” One design fleets slated for the J/Fest Regatta include J/22, J/24, J/29, J/80, J/105 and the J/109. All J/Boats are welcome to race in the PHRF classes and in the J/Cruise class. Any J/Boat is eligible to participate and the regatta organizers intend to offer several exciting formats for the non One Design racers. To learn more detail about registering for the J/Fest Southwest, please check the home page of Lakewood Yacht Club.

Mercedes J/22 North Americans

(Buffalo, NY)- This week, more than 60 teams from across the United States and Canada will compete August 18-22 on the waters of Lake Erie in the Mercedes-Benz of Buffalo 2010 J/22 North American Championship, hosted by the Buffalo Yacht Club in Buffalo, NY. The event, which is attracting J/22 racing boats from as far away as Texas, Louisiana, Michigan and Quebec, is part of the Buffalo Yacht Club's sesquicentennial anniversary celebration. For more J/22 North American sailing and results information. Sailng Photo Credit- Tim Wilkes

J/24 World Championships

(Malmo, Sweden)- This is the site of Ed Baird's first and only J/24 World Championship win where he battled it out with the Johnstone's to take the regatta on the last race of the last day in freaky winds and massive amounts of current (which included anchoring!). So far, the 2010 edition in Malmo is shaping up to be a great regatta. See the current update below as well as Moose McClintock's report in the J/Community section. Ian Southworth from England, Tim Healy, Tony Parker and Mike Ingham from USA, Anna Gunnarson from Sweden, Matias Pereira from Argentina and Maurizio Santa Cruz from Brazil- current J/24 World Champion- are dueling for top honors in this remarkable international one-design class. For more J/24 Worlds sailing and results.

J/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Sailing "up above" in the northern climes continues to be "hot" for various one-design classes on both sides of the Big Pond, particularly in Sweden. In Europe, the J/24s are conducting their World Championship in Malmo, Sweden while simultaneously, the J/22s are running their North American Championships in Buffalo, NY. Both have very tight competition and you can follow each on their websites for daily updates. Also in Sweden the recent Goteborg Offshore Race took place that saw a J/109 "blurrr" the competition. In Canada, or more specifically the "Nova Scotians", proved yet again they are superb hosts for their fabulous, beautiful Chester Race Week. Just south across the border, the J/105s had classic San Francisco Bay conditions for their SFYC Summer Regatta and some contemporaries out way, way East on Nantucket were enjoying Nantucket Race Week. Finally, don't forget to read the J/Cruising Community section below. Read on! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.

American Rebirth At J/24 Worlds?

(Malmo, Sweden - August 18th)- After three days of racing at the 2010 J/24 World Championship, Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio (USA) has kept the 54 boat fleet on schedule with six of the ten scheduled races completed. With a drop race now recorded, and with American Tim Healy successfully gaining redress on a starting line penalty, Healy now holds an 11 point lead over fellow American Tony Parker in second. This is quite a turn-around of events for the top Americans, having had all kinds of trouble getting off the starting lines and sailing seemingly every which way but the right way for the first few days. In fact, after the first four races, Europeans dominated, taking 7 of top 10 places with Brazilian World Champion Maurizio Santa Cruz not having found second gear and fellow South American Matias Pereira from Argentina sailing strong to stay in second. Now the tables have changed and racing continues through Friday. For more J/24 Worlds sailing and results.

J/109 BLUR Wins Goteborg Offshore Race

(Goteborg, Sweden)- Peter Gustafsson and his crew continue their winning streak in 2010 sailing their J/109 BLUR off the picturesque coast of Sweden. After winning Helly Hansen Skagen Race in Norway and Big Boat Challenge in Denmark in May, it was time for a race in home waters: the 15th edition of the 150 mile Goteborg Offshore Race. Some might remember the earlier Skaw Race and Skagerrak Cup that were held in the same waters. Now the course runs from Goteborg to Marstrand, over to Skagen and south around Kattegat.

The forecasts couldn't have been better. SE 10-15 knots going to lighter NW during the evening. All the boats got off at 1100 on Friday the 13th (not the best starting date?) and after some short and intensive legs to get out of the archipelago everyone hoisted their kites for the run north towards Marstrand. Perfect conditions but tricky winds and current reshuffled the standings early on. And when the fleet got that promised 180 degree shift on the beat over to Skagen, everyone knew that this race would demand 100% focus and concentration all the way until the finish.

The night proved to be a magical one. Warm downwind sailing in 4-8 knots of wind, a million stars, lots of falling stars (some counted over fifty) and sparkling seas. And BLUR managed to stay with, and even overtake, all the 40-footers except a new First 40. Suddenly they all wished they had a sprits and asymmetrical spinnakers!

After a glorious sunrise, the fleet beat north again along the Swedish coast. Once again fantastic conditions and close racing, especially among the 40-footers. And after 26 hours of racing, BLUR managed to beat most of the 40-footers on the water to a comfortable win on handicap with over an hour in both IRC and SRS rating systems. For more Goteborg Offshore Race sailing information

ARBITRAGE Wins Summer Keelboat Regatta

(San Francisco, CA)- Fifteen J/105s raced for the San Francisco YC's Summer Keelboat Regatta in winds from 11 to 25 kt, with Adam Spiegel's JAM SESSION starting the regatta off with a pair of bullets before being gradually ground down by Bruce Stone's ARBITRAGE. Stone started with a 3-3 before putting up a 2-2 and finishing off with a bullet to win with 11 points. Second was JAM SESSION with 15 and third was Rolf Kaiser’s DONKEY JACK with 24 points. Sailing Photo Credit- Heike Schwab

Chester Race Week Fun

J/24 and J/29 Fleet Love Fest

(Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada)- The beautiful little village of Chester played host to another wonderful Race Week. The racing concluded with the last classes crossing the finish lines in the late afternoon and the crews anxiously waited to learn the results on the boards at Chester Yacht Club. Many of the boats sail in handicap fleets which have to be calculated before the results are final.

"The weather and wind conditions could not have been better" said Randy Stevens, chair of this year’s regatta. "The winds were light earlier on but filled in on Friday and Saturday to make for excellent, competitive racing without the drama of gales and foul weather" Stevens added. "The regatta did not experience any unpleasant events and protests were few".

A total of 142 yachts competed in 12 classes on three different courses over the four day event which is the largest keel boat regatta in Canada. Boats were registered from all over Nova Scotia plus three from Prince Edward Island and two from New Brunswick. For those viewing the racing from shore or on the water they were treated to a kaleidoscope of color with the spinnakers billowing and pulling the boats to the finish lines. The yachts varied from the 23ft Bluenose class to the magnificent classic yachts and the large ocean racers.

The social side was not neglected with Barbeques and parties every night until the wee hours. The popular Hopping Penguins Band entertained on both Thursday and Friday evenings. The festivities finished with an appearance of a band 'The Halifax Pirates' in full privateer regalia.

In the A2 Fleet, the J/35s sailed well, finishing 4th and 5th for the week against a slew of Beneteau 36.7s. Gary Sullivan's J/35 SUMROO was 4th with a 7-7-5-2-3-7 record for 24 points, beating his stablemate Richard Oulton's J/35 WHISTLER'S AIR on a tie-breaker!

In the A3 Fleet, the J/92 POOHSTICKS sailed by Colin Mann finished second with a 1-3-2-2-2 record, to lose by only one point the top of the podium!

For the Cruising Fleet, the J/120 BRILLIANCE from Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron sailed beautifully to finish first with a 1-1-1-5 record. Also participating in their class were Reg Goodday's J/44 AKUBRA and Mike Kennedy's J/105 GRAND CRU.

The J One-Designs had some great sailing with a good turnout for both classes. The J/24s had seven boats participating. After the final gun, it was John Whynacht's STICKY FINGERS that took the gold, with Gerg Blunden's ADRENALIN RUSH taking silver and Jamie Storey's WAVE RUNNER the bronze.

The J/29s had an excellent fleet with nine boats racing. After a real donnybrook of a fight, it was the "dogs" on DOG PARTY that took first place, sailed by a bunch of characters from Charlottetown Yacht Club and ably captained by Terry McKenna and crew. Second was Chris MacDonald sailing SCOTCH MIST and third overall was Larry Creaser's JAEGER from the host Chester Yacht Club. For more Chester Race Week sailing information.

J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* "The Moose Is Loose" Report- Moose McClintock from Dimension-Polyant gives you a J/24 Worlds report from Malmo, Sweden-- "Well, here we are in Malmo, Sweden, getting set to do another J-24 World Championship. Attendance is strong (55 boats, 5 American with a good showing from Japan and Australia) and though there aren’t a lot of people here I know, there are the last two World Champions so there is more than enough competition, hopefully we’ll be in that mix. Conditions have been spotty, certainly no shortage of rain (and as I write this I’m looking out the window at grey skies and 20 knots, some of the rain has been epic) but the wind is up and down. The Swedish Nationals, held last week, saw good breeze but since we’ve been here the wind has been on the light side (the practice race was postponed an hour and then sent off with a fetch from the starting line). Hopefully the addition of Peter Reggio as the PRO will straighten that out though running the races right off the marina entrance will make things pretty interesting if the wind shifts more inland.

Sweden is a nice place, very friendly (and blond) people everywhere who are very helpful and almost all speak English (I thought this was just another example of dumb Americans only knowing English until I realized that of 17 channels on TV, 13 are full time English speaking shows with Swedish subtitles, the kids grow up on English). Despite the usual measurement hassle (and only two boats found with illegal lead encased, other than that it went pretty smoothly, though long, for the fleet) we’ve had a pretty good time getting acclimated to the area (though reading street signs here is no easy chore). We’re staying right next to the Twisted Torso (shown) which has aptly been named the Twisted Sister. We’re told this is one of the top ten innovative architectural designs, it just looks cool when you get next to it and look straight up. As a landmark, it works because it towers over everything, whenever you’re lost you just head for it and viola, boat park and apartment.

Winner of the practice reach was Tony Parker of the US (2nd in last week’s Nationals), we were doing just fine but made the decision to tack for the weather mark right around the leeward mark while in 3rd, we were overstanding again when the mark got picked up and moved to the other side of all the boats reaching down from the mark. Mark change? Well, no one said there would be one, no signals. Whatever, it’s a practice race, hope it gets better for the real deal. In practice runs, everyone we’ve sailed against seems fast, particularly the Italians, defending champ Mauricio Santa Cruz and Americans Parker and Mike Ingham. I’m not sure where we are on this list, we have a charter boat from Italy that seems quite good but until we actually get on the starting line in earnest we’ll be guessing. Forecast for today is starting around 20 knots and dying to about 12 by the end of the day. Forecast includes, of course, rain.

Update:
Nice day today, 15-25, small jibs all day (though we thought about the big jib (read: me pushing for it….it would have been a mistake) for the last beat). Matias Periera smoked everyone, 1,2. We had two really bad starts but were able to hang in for a 2,4. Mike Ingham did a great job in the 2nd race, lost Periera near the finish but got him at the line, we were able to pass Southworth on the last beat to complete a comeback from 15th just before the weather mark, long painful race. The committee was having a hard time keeping themselves anchored before the 2ns start, giving one boat time to go in and get a kite to replace the one they blew up (not sure where that stands in the J-24 class rules) but were able to get the race off, some funky stuff that may lead to a protest of the race, hope not. First race had lots of broaches, best shot though was an upwind broach of a port tacker who didn’t see the starboard guy coming along, full on bat turn with the jib cleated, keel completely out. Who says J-24’s aren’t entertaining? 2nd overall to a Periera and just ahead of a very fast German boat, forecast for tomorrow is not a lot of breeze. Also, not a lot of rain. If it doesn’t rain again I don’t care how we do, I’m sick of being wet." Read more about Moose's exploits this week sailing the J/24 Worlds on Sailing Anarchy.com- http://www.sailinganarchy.com

* Nantucket YC was hosting the Nantucket Race Week this past week. It's an eight-day experience that marshals the entire Nantucket community together in a fun-filled week of regattas, awards ceremonies, and parties. The races provide sport for everyone from young dinghy sailors and families in the household one designs to grand prix racers at the very top of their profession. Among the event features was the IOD Pro/Am event with highly accomplished guest sailors among the 12 entrants. Remarkably, there were J friends, alumni and crew on nearly every boat listed as amateur/pro, including on the winner- AMERICAN (Jim Bishop and Dave Ullman), 2nd- PEOPLE'S BOAT (Mark Reynolds), 3rd- BRAVO (Dee Smith), 4th- WINDY POINT (Gary Jobson), 5th- TANGO (Kimo Worthington), 6th- VICTOR (Chuck Allen), 7th- CAPE COD (Heather Gregg and Karl Anderson), 8th- SAILNEWPORT (Jesse Smith and Mike Toppa), 9th- CORINTHIAN (Robbie Doyle), 10th- WHISKY (Whitey Willauer and Kevin Farrar), and 11th- ALPHA (Tom Whidden). For more Nantucket Race Week info- http://www.nantucketraceweek.org/

The J Cruising community continue the adventures around the world, below are a selection of their excellent "blogs" written by passionate sailors publishers.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." Fun reading when rocking back in a chair watching your storm-lashed windows take a beating in the gale roaring outside and listening to the crackle of a roaring fire. It is winter "down under" you know. The Argentineans are freezing.

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary will have just finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above). SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com). Susan Grun and her husband on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun).

Featured Boats

J/65 at the Newport International Boat Show

If you have a passion for speed and comfort, the J/65 BRAND NEW DAY is in a league of its own. The J/65 is the flagship passage maker in the J Boat line-- the ultimate private sailing yacht for sailing enthusiasts. The J/65 has exceptional performance under non-overlapping headsails, double-handed ease of operation, minimum on-deck maintenance, luxurious accommodations, stunning aesthetics, and great value. Finishing 2nd in IRC in the 2010 Newport – Bermuda Race, sailing with air conditioning and wine with each meal, the J/65 is a yacht that performs exceptionally well and in style and comfort. For more on the race experience. BRAND NEW DAY will be at the Newport International Boat Show September 16 – 19 in Newport, Rhode Island. To arrange a viewing, contact Jeff Brown- jeff@jk3yachts.com

J/95 #1 Available- Owner Buying Bigger J!

J/95s are on a roll in the southeast with five boats sailing in the area by this fall (at least four planning to participate in the January Key West Race Week). Sarasota Yacht and Ship is the brokerage side of the J/Southeast dealer CrossCurrent Marine, and they are thrilled to have landed the first brokerage listing for this wonderful shoal draft performance daysailer. Boat is fully optioned with carbon sails, mast, V boom and sports an extension electronics suite. Please contact Craig Crossley at 401-330-6135, or email craig@crosscurrentmarine for more information.

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Big J/24 event of the Year!!

(New South Wales, Australia)- Leave it up to the fun-loving Australians for more out-of-the-box thinking and generate lots of enthusiasm for their ever-expanding J/24 program in Australia. For starters, the J/24 Australian NSW State Championships will be racing October 2-3. But, perhaps more importantly the Australian J/24 class is hosting the J/24 Legends Regatta on Monday 4th October 2010 at Gosford Sailing Club (e.g. like the 12 Meter "Legends Regatta" being held at New York YC's Harbour Court in Newport, RI this September). Here's your chance to have one of Australia's J/24 Sailing Legends sail on your boat as either skipper or crew. This will be the most amazing collection of past and current World Champions and National Champions the J/24 class has ever brought together for a day of racing and conviviality. Immediately following the State Championship, this one day regatta will become the stuff of Legends itself. If you want to meet and talk with, sail against and have a beer with Australia's Sailing Legends, you need to book early and be at the Legends Regatta.

Invitations to the J/24 Legends Regatta event include World Champions, National Champions and Women on Water winners and supporters. The evening's Master of Ceremonies will be ex-J/24 sailor and "Master of the Universe", Rob Mundle. They already have Legends Mark Bethwaite (yeah, same family who helped create a bunch of Aussie 18s, the International 49er and 29er classes), Ian MacDiarmid, Garry Geitz, David Suda, Sean Wallis, Sean Kirkjian, Hugo Ottoway, Steve Girdis and Rod Waterhouse confirmed. BTW, are Ken Read, Morgan Larson, Terry Hutchinson and Ed Baird invited, too? Some say they are distantly related to a few "ex-convicts" (a few dozen generations back) and qualify somewhat tangentially as "Aussies Too". :) If you are interested in entering, or being involved, please contact Terry on 0413 876184 or Paula on 0404 539176. They'll be filling the ballroom pictured here!

J/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

August ushered in with a bang for sailors worldwide, especially in Europe. The sailing conditions for England's Cowes Week were great for sailing around the shoals and crazy Solent currents. The J/80s in France enjoyed their Deauville Open. The J/22s in Travemunder Woche in Germany had some special guests from The Netherlands. In the America's, sailing took place at the world's highest regatta (the mile high club) on Lake Dillon in Colorado as well as down along the coasts. The J/30s held their North Americans in Marblehead, MA; the J/80s and J/24s had some great racing on a windy Buzzards Bay Regatta; and the J/105s sailed the third and final leg of the J/105 Narragansett Bay Championship at Wickford YC's West Passage Regatta. Finally, don't forget to read the J/Cruising Community section below. Read on! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.

J/109 JEROBOAM Wins Cowes Week

J/122 JINJA 2nd IRC 2

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Racing conditions for this year's Cowes Week could be described as challenging interspersed with "champagne sailing" for those sun gods and goddesses looking to enjoy the "southern climate" of England; enjoying all the Solent could possibly muster over the week long event.

At the end, the J/109s proved they're the class to beat. With excellent one-design competition, it was clear it would not be a "cake walk" for the winners atop this class. Nevertheless, the mid-week leader continued to sailing consistently to take first-- Rick Garret's JEROBOAM won with a convincing record of 1-3-1-2-1-2 for ten points to finish 13 points clear of second place finisher Adam and Helen Wright's VELVET ELVIS (7-4-2-3-6-1). Third was Mike Smith's ZELDA with a 8-9-1-5-1-3 record, fourth was Matt Boyle's SHIVA and fifth was Glyn Locke and Gill Ross' JAMBHALA.

After a slow start, the RAF J/80 Team started firing their gatling guns (firing off a few rounds of bullets to dazzle their competitors!). Simon Ling's RAF SPITFIRE crew sailed a very strong series to dominate their class with a 1-1-1-1-2-1 record for seven points, well clear of second place finisher Sebastian Ripard's AGAINSTMALARIA.COM (a family crew from Malta). Third was John Cooper's OI! and falling off the pace a bit towards the end was early series leader, Thor Askeland's ELLE S'APPELLE, dropping to fifth.

The J/122s were quite successful racing both handicap and one-design class within IRC 2 Class. On handicap, Ian Matthews' JINJA climbed into second overall for the series and Rodolphe Marchais' JOLLY JOKER hung onto their mid-week position of sixth overall. In one-design class, JINJA, JOLLY JOKER were first and second, respectively, followed by David Richard's JOLLY in third, David Hunt's JACOB'S LADDER in fourth and Robin Myerscough's MINT JULEP in fifth.

In IRC 5, J/97s seemingly dominated their class dueling it out with ex-J/39 owner Adam Gosling on YES! The J/97s had taken mostly firsts, seconds and thirds. Grant Gordon's FEVER ultimately got second place with a fantastic tally of 1-1-2-2-2, just one point from first place! Lying fourth was Jim Dick's JACKAROO with a 3-3-3-7-3 record, losing on a tie-breaker for third overall.

In conjunction with Cowes Week, the J/92s were running their J/92 Nationals. The new class Champion is Steve Etheridge and Andrew Roberts' JUST IN TIME finish first with a solid 1-2-2 record. Second was Andrew Dallas' HULLABALOO with a 4-3-1 tally and third was Mark Lloyd's JUNGLE FEVER with a 5-1-5 score.

Racing in IRC configuration, the J/92's sailed six races. The winners were Dallas' HULLABALOO (4-3-1-5-3-1) followed in second by Greenhalgh and Bexon Taylor's J'RONIMO (3-6-3-4-1-9) and third was Pip Tyler's NEILSON REDEYE (7-4-4-1-4-9). For more Cowes Week sailing information.

BABY J Wins J/80 Deauville Open

(Deauville, France)- The fifth round of the Coupe de France J/80 has been largely dominated by the crew from Nantes- BABY J. With a whopping six races won and three second places, there was no doubt who had won the event. In the lead from the first day on Thursday, the winners from the Loire-Atlantic were able to figure out the conditions on the waters off Deauville better than anyone else.

"We still had to deal with many weather changes throughout the four days. The chop bothered us the most, because it was suddenly longer than usual and much higher," stressed skipper Jean Francois Guionet. "We had to fight and play hard in order to do well."

Deauville and local fleet President Laurent Chauvin, who managed to get two wins, finished third. The Deauville J/80 fleet did very well in the event, with a fifth place for the other crew Philippe Szellos. As always, the skillful sailors from the Cherbourg J/80 fleet have placed one of their own time to be amongst the fleet leaders. Second from La Trinite-sur-Mer was LDT DEMOLITION skippered by R. Paternot, fourth from CN Cherbourg (the Cherbourg Navy), was G. Rizzolo. For more J/80 Deauville Open Sailing information.

LITTLE FEAT Wins J/80 USA Tour #5

Buzzards Bay Regatta Breezy Affair

(Marion, MA)- The annual Buzzards Bay Regatta was hosted this year by Marion Yacht Club; they also provided support as the fifth stop of the J/80 class USA Tour. It was nearly postcard perfect conditions, with the warm weather feeding the strength of the thermal breezes, making for classic Buzzards Bay conditions-- short steep chop and steady 15-20 knot winds. The regatta also served as another "warm up" event for the upcoming J/80 North Americans in Buzzards Bay in September and the J/80 World Championship in Newport later in October.

Prevailing in these conditions were the family team of Jeff and Rod Johnstone racing their J/80 LITTLE FEAT to a very consistent score of 2-5-1-1-2-4-4-1-4 for 19 points, managing to win over a strong contingent of twenty-seven boats, including past J/80 World and North American Champions such as Jay Lutz and Kerry Klingler. Second in the regatta was Kerry Klingler with a 4-3-3-8-1-6-dsq-2-2 score of 29 points. Third was the team of Jay Lutz and Gary Kamins on FIRED UP, sailing to a 1-4-5-10-6-1-10-7-1 for 35 points. J/80 Class newcomers Will Crump on GULDFAXE and Brian Keane on SAVASANA are rapidly rising the learning curve and were strong contenders throughout the series despite a few missteps early in the series, getting 5th and 6th, respectively for the series.

The J/24s had a strong, very competitive 16 boat fleet. Ryan Walsh sailing SKETCHY AT BEST won by just four points despite nearly dominating the series with a 1-1-2-2-1-1-1-1-3 record for 10 points. Just behind giving them a serious run for the money was John Van Dalen sailing ARNOLD GOES TO HOLLYWOOD with a 3-2-1-1-2-2-3-2-1 tally for 14 points. Third was Margaret Borden sailing HEFFAH with a 2-3-3-5-4-4-4-3-6 score for 28 points. For more Buzzards Bay sailing information.

J/22 Travemunder Woch Regatta

JABBADABBADOO Wins The Party!

(Travemunder, Germany)- in the first weekend of August, the J/22 German class hosted their renowned Travemunder Woche Party--- er, sailing regatta. Here's an amusing story from Team JABBADABBADOO that hail from the Netherlands J/22 fleet, daring to venture across the border, trailer their boat after the J/22 Worlds to parts unknown up north where different tribes of J/22 sailors lurk, awaiting in the shallows to launch an ambush on unsuspecting sailors who haven't cracked a smile in weeks (if not years!). Here's JABBADABBADOO's report-

"From all the German J/22 sailors, we had heard that we had to go to the Travemunder Woche to party and sail this huge event. So nicely convinced by them, we packed our JABBADABBADOO! and went to Germany!

We even convinced our favorite German sailor to join us (and even more important) to train us- "Welcome on board of the JABBADABBADOO Mssr. Falko! And training we needed, from rigging to trimming to maneuvers.

The first day brought wind, a lot of wind-- our cowboy attitude in hoisting the spinnaker was instantly punished-- we broached big-time, and we went swimming (a complete Stan and half a Nadine), "J down for the count", we're in the water, but Falko was already at the spinnaker halyard, rescuing us, our J/22 and keeping our third place in the race! Lessons learned-- release the spinnaker, don't panic, and enjoy the ride, the J will be up in 20 seconds!

With a third and a ninth place we were completely happy with that day, having already exceeded all our expectations. Time to celebrate with all the other J sailors on board the beautiful four-masted ship PASSAT and later for cocktails and music to the Travemunder Party (all promises proved true-- it is an excellent place to sail AND to party)!

Two more days ahead and we started the second day again with more wind than predicted (but thankfully a bit less than the day before). After a 5th place (involving some more swimming crew-members) we went on with a steep learning curve, leading to an incredible (for us) second and first place in our J/22.

We celebrated this in all forms at the end of this day with a BBQ organised by the class association (yummmy, such nice Bratwurste) and well deserved German beer!

The third racing day brought no wind and we could just enjoy the sail (and tow back).

It was such a great weekend, a superb party, a fantastic sail and even more important great company on our boat, but also on shore with all the other J/22 sailors!

And we know that we have so much to "thank" Falko who coached us perfectly and proved to us that our boat can be fast and point! The race results were great, but the learning curve thanks to Falko's training was much more important to us. Thank you!" Most respectfully, Team JABBADABBADOO- Nadine Fritz, Audrey Paterson, Stan Heltzel und Falko Braun- pictured here. Team website- http://jabbadabbadoo.eu/ For more Travemunde Woch Regatta sailing information.

ECLIPSE Wins J/105 West Passage Regatta

J/105 Narragansett Bay Championship Event #3

(Wickford, RI)- The final race of the West Passage Regatta marked the end of the Narragansett Bay Championship as well. With good breezes both days, the eighteen boat J/105 fleet enjoyed great racing on the northern part of Narragansett Bay sailing just off the Quonset Naval Air Station. The strong southwest thermal breezes were shiftier than normal and made it difficult even for the local sailors to divine the best tactics and strategies all weekend long. Congratulations to the Wickford YC for conducting an excellent event, with eight races run in two days- four per day!

Damian Emery has been on a roll recently. After slowly getting started in the SailNewport Regatta back in June, Damian's ECLIPSE team took the New York YC Race Week in J/105s and has now "sealed the deal" to not only win the Wickford Regatta (1-2-5-4-1-1-2-1) but win the first Narragansett Bay Championship as well. Well done mates! Second was Fred Darlington on TONTO with a great series, sailing to a 5-3-1-2-3-2-5-2 record. After a strong start and leading after the first day, it appeared the wheels fell off the shopping trolley of Bruce Stone's POWER PLAY-- starting with a 2-1-2-1 score, then fading to a DSQ-4-9-5 record on Sunday to finish third. Class leaders Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM sailed consistently to finish fourth, just two points clear of Andrew Kennedy's BAT IV who finished fifth. BAT IV came on strong on Sunday with a 2-3-1-3 record, but it wasn't enough to crack the top three and get the podium finish.

In the end, Damian's ECLIPSE team were ecstatic to have earned a brand new NORTH SAILS VMG J/105 Asymmetric Spinnaker as part of the spoils for winning the regatta. With a big, cheshire cat grin, Damian was heard remarking, "this will only make us go faster next time!" That may, or may not, be good news for their competitors! For more J/105 Wickford Regatta and sailing info.

BLUE MEANIE Wins J/30 North Americans

(Marblehead, MA)- This past weekend, the J/30s hosted their North American Championship in Marblehead, hosted by the Boston Yacht Club. Marblehead is one of the premier sailing centers of the east coast and conducted an excellent North Americans, a great venue for a classic, fun one design class.

In what may be a record turnout in recent years for the J/30s, seventeen boats showed up for the NA's for some great racing. The top three spots were hotly contested with only six points separating the top three at the end of the seven race (one throw-out) regatta. The winners, Steve Buzbee's well-oiled machine on BLUE MEANIE, sailed well to consistently place in the top five, garnering a 1-2-1-1-7-1-5 record. Second only two points back and coming on very strong in the later half of the regatta were Bengt Johansson's cast of characters on FUZZY WUZZY, racing to a 4-1-6-2-1-2-3 score. Rounding out the top three were Bill Saltonstall and gang aboard ARABELLA, sailing to a 2-5-3-4-3-3-2 tally.

The J/30 Class has gotten well-organized and have made great efforts to ensure J/30 owners are having fun and enjoying the camaraderie of one-design class racing-- taking a few pages out of other J One-design organizations like the J/24 Australian Class and J/80 class, the J/30s are providing a great class website along with forums and current news and information about class members and their activities aboard. BTW, the artwork is credited to long-time J/30 sailor, Martha Quigley-- she was part of the Starlight Express crew that to this day still holds the fastest time to finish in the Marblehead to Halifax race. She also has a history with the J/30's in that her brother had one for a number of years here in Marblehead and she spent quite a bit or time racing on it. See Martha's gallery of work at- http://www.landfallgallery.com/ Read more about sailing the J/30 Class and their NA's

Dillon Open Regatta- World's Highest Regatta

J/22s, J/24s, J/80s Need Oxygen Masks?

(Dillon, Co)- On the first weekend of August, the Dillon Yacht Club again hosted the world's highest regatta at 9,017 ft above sea level. Racing was held on beautiful Lake Dillon in Dillon, Colorado (a town about 70 miles west of Denver high-up in the Rocky Mountains) where the sailors enjoyed sunny days, insanely shifty, puffy winds (vertical micro-bursts?) and spectacular views of the snow-capped mountains ringing this spectacular lake.

Participating in this years regatta were one-design fleets of J/22s, J/24s and J/80s, with a total of 25 J's participating-- a huge turnout for such rarified air!

In the J/22s, Bill Darling sailed his CAMP ROBBER to six firsts, dominating the eleven boat J/22 fleet and winning by 12.5 points. Second was David Baker sailing the appropriately named UP FOR AIR (remember, they are sailing over a mile high in the air!), sailing to a 3-3-2-4.5-3-3 record for 18.5 points. Third was Lyn Nicks on WALK OF SHAME (who as the inspiration for that name?) with a 2-4-4-2-5-4 tally for 21 points. The J/22s had a great time and it's wonderful to see the fleet continue to grow.

The J/24s are one of Lake Dillon's oldest one-design keelboat fleets, having been formed back in the late 70s with luminaries like ski-boot legend Denny Hanson racing avidly over the years. Still hanging tough and having a wonderful time sailing Dillon's crazed wind patterns were ten boats from around the Rocky Mountain states. This year, Greg Johnson sailed PINOTAGE to a pretty convincing win with a 4-1-1-1-2-1 record for 10 points, nine points clear of second place. Jill Nelson (you go girls!!) was second sailing FLY MO'Js with a 1-2-5-2-5-4 score for 19 points. Third was Matt Weiler on SHOOTING STAR, starting out slow but finishing with a flourish, getting a 7-4-2-5-1-2 tally for 21 points.

The J/80s are beginning to build their class on the lake and this year saw four boats entered. In the end, Kurt Vanderwall traded off 1sts and 2nds with David Leavenworth to determine the regatta leader. After the smoke cleared, it was Kurt's HENDRIX that took it with 5 firsts and a second over David's HARMATTAN with five seconds and a first. For more Dillon Open Sailing information.

J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* Australian J/24s Show The Bigger Boats How It's Done! The Winter Series at Middle Harbour Yacht Club only had one J/24 entered this year Brett Hudson's WILDFIRE skippered by Grant Dawkin-- and boy, did they show the bigger yachts how it's done!! Over 10 races, WILDFIRE produced 3 wins and 2 thirds (lovely Henri Lloyd jackets for all the crew!), taking them to an overall series win against the bigger boats! A generally light wind series allowed the Js to pull away from the big boatS-- let's hope more J/24s decide to enter next winter and really show the fleet how its done!! For more news from J/24s sailing Australia- http://j24australia.com.au/

* J/80 Gotland Runt Reports- back in July, a J/80 crushed the fleet in the huge (800+ boat) Gotland Runt Race in Sweden. It's a popular race, in fact, the most popular offshore race all summer in Sweden. Our J/80 friends produced an amusing report of their escapades on the J/80 Sweden site- here's the translation: "After an amazing second place in the MP Race, we had to ask ourselves if we'd do the Gotland Runt. Well, when we mess with the port security guards, we always get a good place at Lokholmen. Since this was our fifth round Gotland with the J/80, and we had a proven track record, we did nothing about the boat in Mandan, so went and bathed in the sauna instead as preparation for the race!! On Tuesday, Pete scrubbed the boat inside so that it would be livable for the race. Roffe came with the raft and rockets and with Thomas to replace Lucas in Gotland Runt. Floating objects were taped with MK-tape products, our home-built kitchen was mounted on the mast and the radio was tested. It did not work. Hah! Some channels worked, but not others. But after successfully going out and trying the radio on open water, we were ready for inspection. The inspectors were zealous. But we had an eye on the rules and came through with a clean protocol.

Now it was time to provision the boat with water, food and clothing. Someone ran around an island, someone drank a beer or two and someone else cooked. All drank rose wine. Skippers meeting did not mean much but we met many new acquaintances. Quickly back to the Onions for SM champagne, grill and rodtjut. Then, sauna (again) and early to bed.

Full speed on with wind and sun. We decided to leave as late as possible to reduce the stress of the sun. We started 12:15 in the second start, SRS Alpha 2 class. We started almost at the top of the windward jib-top. I went there to keep the height so we had to quickly switch to the jib. The start was decent but not great. We were a bit ahead of the second J/80, Bjorn Nabben. Small boat and light winds. In order to sail undisturbed, we chose the right edge. The wind would turn against the West as it seemed clear as a bell. I turned the other way as 200 boats safely drove us on the road to Alma. After Alma was the first single reach, but then opened it up and we sat down and then jib-top gennaker. We again chose the right edge. In the dark at Gotska Sandon it blew fresh. We topped the 13.8 knots on flat water, beautiful. Now we cooking against many boats. When it brightened we saw Bear Nabben behind us with jibtop. They quickly switched to gennaker. Good speed down to Faro. The distance to the Bear Nabben increased. After Faro it would promise to be a hard leg. We sailed well against a lot of big expensive boats. No one could go down and rest. Nuts and candy on the edge. We were near shore so we could download status and saw that we were 9th at Faro. Fantastic!

In the afternoon, after Gotland southeast coast, we continued at first to sail on boats before but Faluden turned it against and it faded out briefly. First jibtop and then jib. Some of the larger boats we sailed against were now caught up. But we did a nice, tight rounding of Hoburgen and sat again. We know now that we have been 4th at Ostergarn. We walked along the Charles Islands, including 39 footer who started 15 minutes before us. We gave ourselves room far out on the route to Visby, jibe quickly and cut out to sea again. We aimed to go up to 5nm west of rumbline to avoid expected Bleken north breeze off Gotland. It turned, however, so we ended up on the east side of rumbline instead. We switched to jibtop and fought to get onto rumbline again. We could now see 3-4 boats in front of us and two behind. Given that this was a J/80 weather, we knew we sailed fast. We put the "pedal to the metal."

At the finish, we could see a nearly empty harbor! We picked a case of beer and clean clothes from the motor boat on Lokholmen. After we submitted our finish papers, it was soon clear that we would win our class at the estimated time. We are led by more than 4 hours at Gotska Sandon. Sauna, beer, dykarbar, swagger and bragging on Almagrundet. We fried them! Sandhamn Fried them! We won our class, we had also won the second Lysklassen on the short course!

At the winners banquet for our class, they described us with these words- "The Winner-in-class SRS alpha2 Is a J/80, a small boat with a tremendous speed." After the ceremony we went full speed for Viggbyholm Batlyft. What a fantastic week!! For more Swedish sailing sea stories and Swedish J/80 News- http://www.j80.nu

The J Cruising community continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." Fun reading when rocking back in a chair watching your storm-lashed windows take a beating in the gale roaring outside and listening to the crackle of a roaring fire. It is winter "down under" you know. The Argentineans are freezing.

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary will have just finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above). SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com). Susan Grun and her husband on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun).

Featured Boat

Gorgeous J/109 In Houston

One of the best examples of a J/109 sits in Houston, TX ready to roll for the summer season and Key West in 2010. She's a 2006 J/109 Hull #261. Every factory option along with heat and A/C are installed. She's priced well below J//109's comparably equipped. It has an excellent sail inventory of Quantum sails: Spinnakers(5)- 06 07 08 108sqm class; 06 08 121sqm PHRF; Headsails(5)-06 07 08 class jibs, 06 08 PHRF (155); Mains(2)- 06 08-- All sails are kept in climate controlled storage. For more information, please contact Scott Spurlin at J/Boats Southwest- cell +1-512-423-2179 or e-mail- Scott@JBoatsSouthwest.com or go to http://www.JBoatsSouthwest.com

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!